Safe.



W. E. ARNOLD. SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1913.

1,084,837. A Patented Jan.20,1914.

' main shell, being originally an elongated these portions are riveted together.

much of the construction is clearly seen in' WILBER E. ARNOLD, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

SAFE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2o, 1914.

Application led April 30, 1913. Serial No. 764,540.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILBER E. ARNOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain/new and useful Improvements in Safes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to fire-proof safe construction and its Objectis to reduce the expense of transportation and installation, and at the same time provide a more reliable construction in a fire-proof safe.

My invention consists in the parts and in the details of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed. y y

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a safe embodying my invention, the outer doo-r being represented. as open and the interior details being illustrated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line --m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line y-y of Fig. l. Fig. 4-is a detail perspectiveview of the main shell ready to receive the front and rear plates.

Fig. 5 is a vert-ical cross-section, corresponding to the one of Fig. 2, but showing the parts in position in a mold and the cement being poured into the mold-- Fig. 6-is an enlarged detail of one of the rear corners, on the line zof Fig. 1, showing the rear plate attached to the {ia-nge of the main shell and showing how the binders are secured around the inner casing thus made up of th plates.

The main shell plate 1 is bent to form the rectangular plate, and havin slits 2 at the intervals where the corners o the main shell are to be, so that when the plate is bent up, port-ions of the plate along the edges between the slits may be bent at right angles to the main plate, thus forming the rear flanges 3 and the forward ianges 4. These flanges have holes receiving rivets4 5. The ends of the rectangular plate have portions 6 and 7, overlapping near one corner, and

Fig. 4. The rear plate 8 is riveted to the rear flanges 3 and the striking plate 9 is riveted to the forward flanges 4, with edges being approximately flush with the inner sides of the main shell, andit is against this This striking plate 'that the outer door 10 abuts when closed. A front plate 11 is riveted to the shell along with the striking-plate 9, this front plate 11 having an opening into which the door 10 fits. This outer door 10 may be of any approved construction, such as with the bolt frame 12 on it-s inside, fitting closely within the opening of the striking-plate 9 and the inner sides of the main shell. Bolts 13 may be provided, and any approved locking device, such as the handle 14 and the knob 15 represent, may be provided for the outer door. The outer door hinges 16 are riveted to the front plate 11. The inner door 17 has its hinges 17a secured to the inner side of the main plate and abuts against the stop 18 riveted around the inner sides of the main shell. This door is provided with a suitable lock 19.

' From the above it Will be seen that a complete closure is made, corresponding to the inner structures of safes as they have been constructed, but widely diferent from the former structures in the details thereof. This inner structure is made complete and self-contained, whereas the inner parts of safes which have outer plates and angles outsidethe-ire-proof material are of construction dependent upon the outer structure. I prefer the use of the two doors with the air space between them for the front of the safe. It will -be understood that these doors, the outer door'especially, may be constructed 'in any approved manner to dimin.

ish air currents into the safe, aswell as t0 be secured against most attempts at burglarly. This entire inner structure is made with a view to receive the cement or other fire-proof material around the four sides and y the back to aord the proper insulating and heat-resisting wall in each of these regions,

while relying upon the air space between As a binder forthe fire-proof material av series of strands of metal is provided throughout. the sides and back andy spaced away from the plates thereof, so as to locate the binding structure about midway of the depth ofthe material as it is provided over the surfaces of the plates.

For the binder, a woven wire screen or clot-h of coarse mesh and moderatelyv heavy wire may be used with advantage, as I have illustrated herein. Such woven wire structure may be obtained of a widthto tit betw'een the rear and frontflanges 3 and 4, around the sides of the main shell. It is preferably7 provided in two layers 20 and 21, the first separated from the adjacent main shell plate by spacing pieces 22 lying against the outer sides of the shell plates near the corners ofthe shell, asbest seen in Fig. 3. The second layer 21 asses around, being spaced away from the rst layer 20 by other spacing pieces 23 resting on the first or inner layer 20.' .The ends of these webs or layers 20 and 21 are tightly clenched where they come together so that they bind tightly around the sides of the shell and hold the spacing lpieces 22 and 23 in position while these we s are held apart in all regions due to the tension on them as stretched over said spacing pieces. Similarly` the rear plate 8 has two layers or webs 24 and 25 stretched across it, these webs passing over spacing pieces 26 and 27, respectively, near the opposite edges of the rear plate 8 and passing over the edges of the rear plate and the ianges 3l to which it is riveted, and being clenched to the adjacent regions of the webs 2O and 21 stretched around the main shell. It will be understood that these rear webs '24 and 25 may stretch in either or both directions across the rear, and may be drawn tight so that they remain separate from each other and from the rear plate, due to their tension while at the same time holding the spacing pieces 26 and 27. For attaching these webs to the other webs 20 and 21 around the edges of the' rear plate 8 and the flanges 3, strong clips 28 may be used, as is best seen in Fig. 6.

'The structure thus far described, thus made up with all parts held securely in position, is ready upon arrival at the point of use for the completion of the safe without necessity of any further .skilled labor of the safe Worker thereon. For this, I prefer to provide a suitable mold 29, such as the strong wooden box illustrated in Fig. 5, which is preferably shipped from the factory with the inner structure, constituting the packing and shipping case therefor. The inner walls of this box or mold form a s ace of the shape that it is desired that t e outer surface of the safe shall have. Thus the interior/of the'box may be provided with'illets 30 around the corners so that the complete safe will have rounded corners as indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. This mold or box 29 is made of such depth that when the factory-made inner safe structure is placed therein, with its rear parts the required distance from the bottom of the box or mold, the outer surfaces of the outer door 10 and front plate 11 will lie flush with the upper edges or rim of .the box or mold as seen in Fig. For the inner structure to rest upon and be supported the proper distance from the bottom of the mold, suitable blocks or spacing pieces 31 are placed on the bottom of the mold at suitable intervals. With the inner structure thus supported and properly adjusted and leveled inside the mold 30. the cement 32 is poured in through the open space around the inner structure at the top ofthe mold, completely filling the mold all around the inner structure and among the strands of the binding webs of said structure. Any

fire-proof material of suitable insulating any other tendency or ordinary attempt to disrupt the safe. The binder, made up as described, or in any other manner, will greatly add to these resistive properties of the outer structure, whatever the material mav be.- However, I prefer to use a good hydraulic cement of a highly fluid consistency, so that ,it may readily be poured into a mold and made to permeate every interstice of the outside of the inner structure.

The spacing pieces 22 and 23 and 26 and 27, where they are employed are made of the 4fire-.proof material, and formed so that they have very slight regions of contact with the plates and with the webs between which they are supported. They are made long enough only to properly space the webs, dependent upon the tension throughout most of the extent of the webs. In fact, such previously hardened spacing pieces are made as light and of as open construction as possible so that the {ire-proof body consist of the largest possible proportion of homogeneous material. The blocks or spacers 31 are made in a similar manner, and with very slight ortions of their bottoms in contact'with the ottoln of the mold, so that the completed safe will'not expose these previouslfy hardened pieces ap reciably on the sur ace of the back thereofl.3 Such spacing pieces cannot be pulled out from the fire-proof body to afford a means of insertion of an instrument yor explosive by a burglar.

The flanges and the attached rear and front plates project from the main part of the shell about half the depth of the fireproof material around the sides. These flanges wit-h the material hardened around them securely anchor the inner structure in vao the material and afford a thoroughly secure support and reinforcement of the webs or other binders provided for the material. When the material has hardened the mold or -box 29 is torn away, leaving the lsafe in -"completed condition, except that, if desired,

the outer surface may be painted or finished in any other desired manner to improve the appearance of the safe.

the insulating properties are Asuperior to` those of the safe with the metal outer structure. The metal plates vbecome intensely heated on the outside of a safe in a` severe lire, and are often the cause of the destruction of the contents despite the insulating properties of the inclosed cement or other material. and warped under the heat, and do not afford any marked degree of protection to the inclosed fire-proof material. By inclosing the binding structure in the fire-proof wall', the binding structure is not only protected from the heat and will retain its full supporting strength, but it is enabled to hold the re-proot` material much more securely than a mere covering of outer plates can.

Ihe cost of v storage, drayage and transportation of safes is largely eliminated, because the metal inner structure is the lesser part of the weight of a completed safe'. Thus, the user of the safe may have the comparatively light inner structure shipped from a great distance, and may procure the heavy cement or other fire-proof material in the immediate vicinity. Also the molding of this lire-proof material around the inner structure calls for no great degree of skill, and maybe often accomplished at less eX- pense than it could in the factory, affording another saving to the user of the safe.

While I have shown and described a cert-ain construction specifically, I do not wish to be understood as being limited to such disclosure, but

What I claim as new and desire to secu're by Letters Patent is:

1. In a safe, a shell, strands, forming a binder, spacing pieces, said strands being secured over said spacin pieces and thus spaced from the shell, an an outer mass of protective material around said shell with said strands and spacing pieces embedded in it, said spacing pieces vbeing of material' mass.

These plates become weakened 2. In a safe, a, shell, a reticulated web around the shell, spacing pieces bearing on the shell and supporting the web away from the shell, and an outer mass of protective material around said shell with said web 7g) and spacing pieces embedded in it, said spacing pieces being of material congruent with the material of said outer mass.

3. In a safe, a shell, superposed reticulated webs surrounding the shell, lspacing pieces bearing on the shell and supporting said web away from tlie shell, spacing pieces between adjacent ones of said webs, holding them apart,'and an outer mass of protective material around said shell with said webs and spacing pieces embedded in it, said spacing pieces being of material congruent with the material of said outer mass.

4. In a safe, a shell, loutwardly extending flanges thereon, strands, forming a binder, secured around the shell and reinforced by said flanges, spacing pieces, said strands being secured over said spacing pieces and thus spaced away from the shell, and an outer mass of protective material around said shell with said flanges and the strands and spacing pieces embedded in it, said spacing pleces being of material congruent with thematerial of said outer mass.

'5. In a safe, a shell formed of a single oblong plate bent around with its end portions secured together, parts of said shell being bent outward at an angle from the plates and forming the rear. and front flanges thereon, strands forming a binder secured around said shell Abetween said flanges, and an outer mass otprotective material around said shell with said ilanges and the strands embedded in it.

6. In a safe, a shell formed of a single oblong plate bent around with its end portions secured together, parts of said shell being bent outward at an angle from the plates and forming the rear and front flanges thereon, strands forming a binder secured around said shell between said flanges, spacing pieces, said strands being secured over said spacing pieces and thus spaced from the shell, and an outer mass of protective material around said shell with said flanges and the strands and spacing pieces embedded in it, said spacing pieces being of a material congruent with thematerial of said outer mass.

7. In a safe, an inner structure comprising a shell formed of a single oblong plate bent around with its end portions secured together, parts of. said shell bent outward at an angle from the plate and forming rear and front flanges thereon, a plate secured to the rear flanges and closing the rear of the shell, a striking plate secured to the front flanges and having an opening to the interior of the shell, a front plate secured in front ofthe striking plate and having an opening of greater dimension than the opening in the striking plate, and a closure mounted on said front plate, entering the opening in the front plate and engaging with said striking plate.

8. In a safe, an inner structure comprising a shell formed of a single oblong plate bent around Withl its end portions secured together, parts of said shell being bent out- Ward at an angle from the plate and forming rear and front anges thereon, a plate secured to the rear ianges and closing the rear of the shell, a plate secured to the front Jlanges and having the opening to the interior of the shell, a closure for said opening mounted on said front plate, a striking or stop bar secured to the inside of the shell and an inner closure mounted inside said shell to close against said bar.

9. In a safe, an inner structure comprising a shell formed of a single oblong plate bent of the shell, a striking plate secured to the front flanges and having an opening tothe interior of the shell, a front plate secured in front of the striking plate and having an opening of greater dimension than the opening in the striking plate, a closure mounted on said front plate, entering the opening in.

the front plate and engaging with said striking plate, a strikin or stop bar secured to the inside of the shel and an inner clo sure mounted inside said shell to close against said bar.

WILBER E. ARNOLD; Witnesses:

JAMES N. Ramsay, CLARENCE PERDEW. 

